MODULE 1:

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMPUTER

INTERACTION

▣ Human-computer interaction (HCI): “is a discipline

concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation
of interactive systems for human use and with study of
major phenomena surrounding them.

▣ HCI (human-computer interaction) is the study of

interaction between people (users) and computers.
Interaction between users and computers occurs at the
user interface. The golden principle in HCI is that “people
should come first”.
HCI consists of three parts:
• Human: could be an individual user or a group of users.

• Computer: could be any technology ranging from the general

desktop computer to a large-scale computer system.

• Interaction: any direct or indirect communication between a

human and computer.

HCI concentrates on the study of human factors. The study of

human factors started during the Second World War by US army.
Usability was born because of badly designed arms that caused
“friendly fire” during war.
HCI is NOT ABOUT
• Making the interface look pretty

• Only about desktop computers (and that goes for computing as

well!)

• Something that would be nice to do but usually there’s no time for

it

HCI is ABOUT

• Understanding the users

• Understanding users’ tasks
• Understanding the surrounding environment
• GUI requirements gathering and analysis
• Design prototype • Evaluate the system
THE GOALS OF HCI 1.
1. “is to develop or improve the safety, utility, effectiveness,
efficiency and usability of system that include computers.”
(Interacting with computers, 1989, p3)
2. The goals of HCI are to produce usable and safe systems, as well
as functional systems. In order to fulfill that, developers must
attempt to: • Understand how people use technology • Building
suitable systems • Achieve efficient, effective, and safe interaction •
Put people first

People needs, capabilities and preferences should come first. People

should not have to change the way that they use a system. Instead,
the system should be designed to match their requirements
What is Usability?

A usable system is:

• easy to use
• easy to learn
• easy to remember how to use
• effective to use
• efficient to use
• safe to use
• enjoyable to use
Why is usability important?
A Good user-interface can:

1. Earn a company billion.

2. 2. Increase user’s loyalty.
3. 3. Increase users trust.
4. 4. Makes users happy :)

A Bad user-interface can:

1. be annoying, embarrassing, frustrating, and even deadly.

2. Increase mistakes in data entry and system operation.
3. Makes functions become completely inaccessible.
4. System failure because of user rejection.